Creating Infectious Action - Innovation Uncensored

T H E D R A G O N F LY E F F E C T

T H E D R A G O N F L Y E F F E C T : H O W I D E A S T A K E F L I G H TJ E N N I F E R A A K E R S T A N F O R D U N I V E R S I T Y G S B

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HOW DO WE CREATE INFECTIOUS ACTION?

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I WAS SKEPTICAL.

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MY VIEW OF SOCIAL TECHNOLOGY, CIRCA 2008

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networking

powerful

understanding

amazing

fun

innovative friends

sharing

connecting

Social Media

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Social Media

inaccurate

passing faddangerous

frivolity

invasive

a lot of crap

loneliness

wastage of time

demanding

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CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION

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USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO SAVE LIVES ROBERT CHATWANI

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TWO FRIENDS, DIAGNOSED WITH LEUKEMIA

SAMEER BHATIA, 32Grew up in SeattleMy Co-Founder, roommate, best friendMarried Reena in 2006Stanford undergrad, serial entrepreneurDiagnosed May 2007

VINAY CHAKRAVARTHY, 28Grew up in Fremont, CAMarried Rashmi in 2005Berkeley undergrad, MD from BUDiagnosed November 2006

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US ESTIMATES – 2009

New cases: 44,790

Deaths: 21,870

Mortality: 49%

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For many patients, the only cure is a bone marrow transplant, from a human donor.

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FINDING A DONOR

Marrow infusions require a near perfect genetic match (10/10).

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The highest probability lies in the same ethnic pool.

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Non-profit that operates a bone marrow registry of 7.5 million individuals.

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For European Americans, there is an 80% chance of finding a matched donor in the NMDP Registry.

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Of the 7.5 MILLION registrants in theU.S.,

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20% are minorities.

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But only 1% are South Asian.

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So if you are South Asian…

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your chances of finding a match are slim.

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V E R Y S L I M

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1 in 20,000

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Sameer and Vinay did not find matches that they desperately needed in the registry.

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To make matters worse,

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in India…

a country with more than 1 billion people

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nothing

There was noNational Bone Marrow Registry

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What to do?

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Friends got together.

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We all knew that we needed to do something.

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What were our options?

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Do nothing.

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Do nothing.Do something.

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Do nothing.Do something.

Do something SEISMIC.

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THE CHALLENGE

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THE CHALLENGEWe needed to move fast.

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THE CHALLENGEWe needed to move fast.We needed to scale.

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THE CHALLENGEWe needed to move fast.We needed to scale.We could not fail.

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Our simple answer…

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If the odds were 1 in 20,000…

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Then all we needed to do was…

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hold bone marrow drives…

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and register 20,000 South Asians.

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And then we’ll find a match.

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Just 1 problem.

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We had a matter of weeks to get this done.

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First, stay focused.

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One goal:

20,000 South Asians

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Dear Friends, Please take a moment to read this e-mail. My friend, Sameer Bhatia, has been diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML), which is a cancer of the blood. He is in urgent need of a bone marrow transplant. Sameer is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, is 31 years old, and got married last year. His diagnosis was confirmed just weeks ago and caught us all by surprise given that he has always been in peak condition. Sameer, a Stanford alum, is known to many for his efforts in launching the American India Foundation, Project DOSTI, TiE (Chicago), a microfinance fund, and other causes focused on helping others. Now he urgently needs our help in giving him a new lease on life. He is undergoing chemotherapy at present but needs a bone marrow transplant to sustain beyond the next few months. Fortunately, you can help. Let’s use the power of the Net to save a life…something that couldn’t be done years ago, but is now possible. Three Things You Can Do (click here for more details online) 1. Please get registered.Getting registered is quick and requires a simple cheek swab (2 minutes of your time) and filling out some forms (5 minutes of your time). Registering and even donating if you’re ever selected is VERY simple. Another friend of ours, Vinay, was also diagnosed with AML and requires a transplant. We have joined forces with Team Vinay (www.helpvinay.org) in order to get South Asians registered in the bone marrow registry. Both Sameer and Vinay need a match from another South Asian, however, very few South Asians are actually in the registry and this makes it difficult for doctors to find them a match. This is why we need your help. We are supporting Team Vinay in organizing drives nationwide, and I need you to get registered by visiting a local drive. Drives are currently taking place all around the country, including throughout California, Washington, Michigan, Illinois, New York and many other states. Please see the full list of locations here: http://www.helpvinay.org/dp/index.php?q=event. 2. Spread the word.Please share this e-mail message with at least 10 people (particularly South Asians), and ask them to do the same. Please point your friends to the local drives and ask them to get registered. If you can, sponsor a drive at your company or in your community. Drives need to take place in the next 2-3 weeks to be of help to Sameer and Vinay.  Please use the power of your address book and the Web to spread this message – today more than ever before, we can achieve broad scale and be part of a large online movement to save lives.  3. Learn moreTo learn more, please visit http://www.nickmyers.com/helpsameer. The site includes more details on how to organize your own drive, valuable information about AML, plus FAQs on registering. Please visit http://www.helpvinay.org/dp/index.php?q=node/108 for more information on the cities where more help is needed. Another past success story from our community is that of Pia Awal’s; please read about her successful fight against AML at www.matchpia.org.  Thank you for getting registered to help Sameer and Vinay win their fight against leukemia – and for helping others who may face blood cancers in the future. Truly, Robert

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GOT ORGANIZED & FORMED TEAMS

TEAM VINAY TEAM SAMEER

team lead

marketing

drive operations

education

regional leads

team lead

marketing

drive operations

education

regional leads

bridges

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HelpSameer.org HelpVinay.org

BUILD THE BRANDS

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Executed, like CRAZY.

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Blogs

Facebook

Widgets

VideoViral EmailPledge Lists

Fliers

CelebritiesDonor Orgs

LiteratureWeb Links

How to Videos

Homes

Local EventsClubs / Lounges

UniversitiesTemples

Corporate Drives

TVPublic Relations

PostersNewspapers

Magazine

Telemarketing

http://www.helpsameer.org/strategy/

STRATEGY

Instant Brand

Mass-Micro Mobilization

HELP SAMEER STRATEGY

SOCIAL MEDIA EDUCATION

REGISTRATIONTRADITIONAL MEDIA

AWARENESS ACTION

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10 Simple Steps—You Can Do It!Let’s find Sameer and Vinay a match! Hosting a bone marrow registration drive at work take some effort, but your drive can be a big success with the right planning and coordination. This playbook is designed to make it easy as possible for you. Since each company is organized differently, think of this as a general guide. The various steps are laid out in sequence, and sample emails are included for you customize for your own use. Replace the text in red with your own text.

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The results in 11 weeks….

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470 bone marrow drives

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june july august

24,611 cheeks…

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24,611 South Asians registered

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Sameer = 10/10 match

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Vinay = 8/10 match

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SAMEER SHARED HIS STORY FROM THE HOSPITAL

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Live each day as if it were your firstDear Friends and Loved Ones,

I can’t stress to you how much I marvel at my blessed fortune every day, a fortune that all of you had a hand in creating.

If you look back at my earliest posts on this website, you’ll recall a newly-diagnosed leukemia patient needing a transplant from a grossly underrepresented and traditionally apathetic community. Along with Vinay, I challenged you all to step up and spread the work; to register and respond when called upon to save a life. I knew that this process was very unlikely to benefit me directly, but I had faith—and was convinced by Robert and others—that I had an opportunity to bring visibility to this issue to benefit future patients. This worked as hoped, and two other patients found matches through our drives. And the unimaginable happened: I also found a match through your efforts!

So who is to credit for this? Each and every one of you. It could have been your email that caused the donor to register. All of you stopped to think for a minute, “What if this was me or someone in my family?” and then did something as simple as sending an email to everyone you knew. This was Awareness Building, and was a crucial phase of your efforts. Others of you—many of whom I don’t even know but hope to seek out to thank in person one day—vested yourselves even deeper by organizing drives. You did this at your companies, your colleges, in your local communities, and at your temples of worship. And one of your actually won the luck of the draw and got to be my donor.

SAMEER BLOGGED PROLIFICALLY

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So, what lessons did we learn?

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Develop a clear goal.There is elegance in simplicity.1

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Reverse the rules. How might others might address the challenge? Do the opposite. 2

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Tell a good (truthful) story. Tell stories that connect on an emotional level. 3

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Design for collaboration.Enable others to contribute and choose their own weapon.4

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Sameer, relapsed within 3 months of his transplant.He fought hard – but sadly, passed away in March 2008.

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We celebrated his life by sharing his memorial service with the world.

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Vinay had a successful transplant, but then relapsed.

He underwent alternative drug treatments but, sadly, Vinay passed away in June 2008.

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Of the 24,611 newly registered…

266 people

were matched in one year alone.

T H E D R A G O N F LY E F F E C T D E S I G N I N G H A P P I N E S S / © J E N N I F E R A A K E R 266

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FINAL THOUGHTS…

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Most revolutions are sparked by the actions of a few ordinary people.

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Your biggest asset is a clear mind and a very large idea.

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Find the ignition point, and light it.

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What do I do now?

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What do I do now?

Could I water this?

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What do I do now?

Could I water this?

Would this story grow?

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What do I do now?

Could I water this?

Would this story grow?

How would that make me feel?

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HAPPY.

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WHAT COULD WE DO TO HELP

QUICKLY

POWERFULLY

EFFECTIVELY

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WHAT COULD WE DO TO HELP

QUICKLY

POWERFULLY

EFFECTIVELY

HARNESSING SOCIAL MEDIA

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COLLECT STORIES.

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SOCIAL GOOD

PROFITS

• Profounder

• World of Good

• Kiva

• Charity:Water• Google

• eBay

• Tom’s Shoes

• Nike

• Whole Foods

• Kahani Movement

• Groupon

• Facebook

• Twitter• Embrace

• Gap

• Coke

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Need a way to build deeper connection with consumers especially teens to its flagship

Leverage digital media to connect globally

SINGLE FOCUSED GOAL

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DESIGN APPROACH

Viral digital marketing campaign on happiness

7 prototypes; $50K each

Facebook apps

Wallpaper

Winner:

Coke Happiness Machine

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SPEND: $50K

REACH: 2 million in 2 weeks

Global: 50% viewers outside US

70% blog posts non-English

IMPACT: 95% positive comments  

THE RESULT

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What campaigns took flight vs. stay grounded?

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Two surprising factors

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DESPAIR.COM

A RECONSIDERED VIEW OF SOCIAL MEDIA

DESPAIR.COM

MEANING

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Four activities were coordinated with precision, operating in sync

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FOCUS ON A SINGLE GOAL

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REVERSE RULES

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TELL A STORY

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ENABLE OTHERS TO ACT

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DRAGONFLY EFFECT: Small acts can create big change

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When the core idea has deep meaning

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When all four wings are coordinated.

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FOCUS

FOCUS

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To change the world, you have to get your head together first.

— Jimi Hendrix

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FOCUSED ON A SINGLE GOAL

They did not try to sign up every single South Asian in Bay Area.

They on those who were well connected

Those who were parents

Those who could relate to Sameer and his story

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FOCUS

FOCUS

HumanisticActionableTestableClearHappiness

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GRAB ATTENTION

GRAB ATTENTION

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This is designed to get somebody’s attention. This is a hammer.

— Rep. Jason Watkins

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GRAB ATTENTION

Made the ask personal and visceral.

And spoke in unexpected ways.

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GRAB ATTENTION

GRAB ATTENTION

PersonalUnexpectedVisceralVisual

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ENGAGE

ENGAGE

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Humans are not ideally set up to understand logic; they are set up to understand stories.

— Robert Schank, Cogntive Psychologist

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ENGAGE

Team Sameer engaged by speaking authenticity, telling a story, personally connecting with the listener

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ENGAGE

ENGAGE

Tell a storyEmpathizeAuthenticityMatch media

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ENABLE ACTION

ENABLE OTHERS TO TAKE ACTION

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As we look ahead to the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.

— Bill Gates

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ENABLE ACTION

Provide tools, templates Social change in a box

Act first, then think

Power of a good campaign = others do things you don’t expect

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ENABLE ACTION

TAKE ACTIONEasyFunTailoredOpen

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THE DRAGONFLY MODEL

GRAB ATTENTION

FOCUS

ENGAGETAKE ACTION

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DRAGONFLY EFFECT

FOCUS

HumanisticActionable Testable Clarity Happiness  

ENGAGE

Tell a story Personally connect Authenticity Match the media

TAKE ACTION

Easy Fun Tailored Open

GRAB ATTENTION

Personal UnexpectedVisceral Visualize

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HAPPY

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thank youand special thanks to

Sameer and Vinay, Robert Chatwani, Purin Phanichphant, Joe Brown, Emily Ma, Barbara McCarthy, David Rogier, Jason Chua,

Nicolae Halmaghi, Nick Myers, Renna Al-Yassini, Jayson McCauliff, Cassie Mogilner, Sep Kamvar, Anneke Jong, Mia Mabanta,

Nancy Duarte, Oren and Justine Jacob, our TED dinner-ites, my parents,

Cooper, Devon, Tae Smith and Andy

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